Case Study Description of Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances
Analyzes the sport sponsorship relationship between a sponsor and sports entity as a form of co-marketing alliance. Provides a rationale for this and defines and explores through a series of in-depth interviews factors deemed critical to alliance success, including strategic compatibility, goal convergence, commitment, and satisfaction. While sponsorship partners believe that the relationship can function as a co-marketing alliance, their interpretations differ and this appears to stifle the relationship. The results also reveal, however, that approaching the sponsorship relationship provides valuable managerial insights and can have a positive effect on performance.
Swot Analysis of "Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances" written by Francis Farrelly, Pascale Quester includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sponsorship Alliance facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sponsorship Alliance, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sponsorship Alliance operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sponsorship Alliance
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Sponsorship Alliance
Strengths Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sponsorship Alliance in Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sponsorship Alliance has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sponsorship Alliance has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sponsorship Alliance in the sector have low bargaining power. Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sponsorship Alliance to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Sponsorship Alliance
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sponsorship Alliance does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Sponsorship Alliance are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Sponsorship Alliance has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sponsorship Alliance to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Sponsorship Alliance is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Francis Farrelly, Pascale Quester can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Strong track record of project management
– Sponsorship Alliance is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sponsorship Alliance has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sponsorship Alliance is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sponsorship Alliance to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sponsorship Alliance to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sponsorship Alliance is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Weaknesses Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances, is just above the industry average. Sponsorship Alliance needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sponsorship Alliance is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Sponsorship Alliance needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sponsorship Alliance to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Sponsorship Alliance supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sponsorship Alliance vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances HBR case study mentions - Sponsorship Alliance takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Sponsorship Alliance has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Sponsorship Alliance has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sponsorship Alliance is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sponsorship Alliance has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sponsorship Alliance has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Sponsorship Alliance has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Sponsorship Alliance is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sponsorship Alliance to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Sponsorship Alliance to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Sponsorship Alliance can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sponsorship Alliance can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sponsorship Alliance can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Buying journey improvements
– Sponsorship Alliance can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sponsorship Alliance can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.
Manufacturing automation
– Sponsorship Alliance can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sponsorship Alliance can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Sponsorship Alliance can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Sponsorship Alliance can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Sponsorship Alliance to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sponsorship Alliance has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sponsorship Alliance to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances case study. Sponsorship Alliance can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sponsorship Alliance can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sponsorship Alliance in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sponsorship Alliance is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances, Sponsorship Alliance may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Sponsorship Alliance.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Sponsorship Alliance business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Sponsorship Alliance needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Sponsorship Alliance has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sponsorship Alliance needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Sponsorship Alliance can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Sponsorship Alliance
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Sponsorship Alliance.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Sponsorship Alliance in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Sponsorship Alliance needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Sponsorship Alliance can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sponsorship Alliance can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Investigating Large-Scale Sponsorship Relationships as Co-Marketing Alliances is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Sponsorship Alliance needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.